JABEZ

KJV 1 Chronicles 4:9,10: And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.

And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

NIV 1 Chronicles 4:9-10: Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.

False Christianity routinely teaches how important faith is to have your prayer answered, overlooking the most important factor. Who does the prayer request? The reason they overlook character issues is because of the presentation as a fact, that once you are a professed believer in Jesus or a member of their congregation or denomination, you are in God’s family and His beloved child. Professed belief in Jesus doesn’t make you a child of God. The Pharisees were believers in God. The chief priests including Caiaphas were in theory in God’s service. The people you see in the congregation differ little from the people in the rest of the society, some are good people, some are not. Christianity is in the character and not in the church building or church membership.

The answer to the question why the prayer of Jabez was answered is provided in verse nine. He was more honorable than his brothers. The website Vocabulary gives a definition of the word honorable and a great description of what it is. I present it here:

The word honorable has to do with people and actions that are honest, fair, and worthy of respect. An honorable person is someone who believes in truth and doing the right thing — and tries to live up to those high principles. When you lose a game, it's honorable to shake hands. If you smash into someone's parked car, it's honorable to leave a note so they can contact you. Telling the truth is honorable. This word is also used for people who are deserving of being honored, like when judges are called "The honorable Judge So-and-so."

Does a person need strong faith to have his prayer answered? No, according to Jesus himself. The following passage is from Luke 17:5,6: “And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.”

In the case of Leah, we see a practical application of Jesus teaching in Matthew 6:7,8: “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”

Genesis 29:31,32: “And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the Lord hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.”

As we see, Leah most likely didn’t resort to literal prayer. Her prayer seems to have been of the heart. The most important messages in her story are the Lord’s mercy, and Leah being a worthy recipient of it. Hannah, the wife of Elkanah, was in a similar situation with Leah. God “remembered her” after praying to the Lord, and she gave birth to her son Samuel.

Believers may see the Bible incidents and Jesus teachings as a far cry from what happens in real life. Bible teachings don’t contrast reality and the misconception is the result of misinterpretation of the Bible. Jesus was saying to ask things from God, but the blessings of God in someone’s life is a much more complex issue than the idea of praying and receiving. At the end it is up to God what blessings you are going to receive and when you will receive them but at the same time He is not neglecting what your heart desires. The Lord’s Prayer includes the quote “thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven”.

A trial could be in his plans for his children for a certain period of time, to shape their character, teach them humility and make them realize they can’t take God for granted. God honors righteousness, meaning obedience to him, before he listens to what the believers are praying for. The prayers are more a testimony of the believer’s expectations from God, a testimony of the correct attitude of the believer, not relying on his own strength. It is not a cause-effect recipe as it could have been seen superficially. The biggest issue is that man continues to be under the yoke of the devil even if he repents of his sins and receives Jesus as his Savior. He is still under the yoke of the devil even if he does works of righteousness, proving that his love of God is for real. Curses until the third and fourth generation are still valid and not one iota is removed from them. This is why Jesus starts the model prayer, the Lord’s prayer in this way “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come”. Let’s put an emphasis on the last one “Thy kingdom come”. This is why Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” The Greek word dikeosini is translated as both righteousness and justice, and I think justice as the proper English translation here makes more sense. The solution to the problem that God does not seem to listen is that the believer should not stay stationary in his life with God, but pursue the new birth. On the way to his kingdom, God sees the people who obey him favorably and offers them His protection, but the real solution to the yoke of the devil is getting rid of it with the new birth. There is no other way.

The kingdom of God means the rule of God in man’s life without the influences of the devil. Both life after the resurrection of the righteous ones and the life after the death of the flesh are called kingdom of God because the deeper meaning is the same, the devil doesn’t have his say about people’s lives any more. The devil had his say with Job, because Job thought his righteousness was enough and his mission as a child of God was accomplished. God gave him a lesson in his case, but in the same incident we learn that it is God who decided how and for what period of time the devil will afflict him. He said to him “only upon himself put not forth thine hand” (Job 1:12).